Sen. Warren Threatens GOP Over Court Nominations

Sen. Elizabeth Warren warned Republicans Wednesday that if they keep rejecting President Barack Obama’s choices for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Democrats will change the rules to deny Republican filibusters.

The Senate rejected the nomination of Georgetown University law professor Cornelia Pillard Tuesday, as a 56-41 vote in her favor didn't clear the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the GOP's filibuster, The New York Times reports.

She was the third Obama selection for the court blocked by Senate Republicans using the filibuster. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is considered the nation's most important court after the Supreme Court.

The GOP contends that the court does not have enough work to justify filling the three vacancies. They also say Obama wants to pack the court with liberal judges more likely to back him on rules passed by regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission.

"If Republicans continue to block qualified nominees for no reason ... senators have not only the right to change the filibuster rules, senators have the duty to change the filibuster rules," Warren, D-Mass., said on the Senate floor, according to The Hill.

"Republicans may prefer a rigged court that helps their corporate friends ... but that’s not the job of judges," Warren added.

Other Democratic senators, including Dick Durbin of Illinois, the party's No. 2 leader in the body, also are threatening a change to the filibuster rules,.